The International 12 Foot Dinghy Class

Designed by George Cockshott ninety years ago, the International Twelve Foot Dinghy Class is today
virtually forgotten in the United Kingdom, but the class still enjoys a sizeable following in the
Netherlands, Italy, Germany and Japan.

It was in 1912 that the newly formed Boat Racing Association (BRA) launched a competition for the
design of a small sailing and rowing dinghy which would be equally at home serving as a tender to
a larger vessel or taking part in club races. The vessel should have an overall length of 12 feet,
a beam of 4 feet 6 inches and a single sail of 100 square feet. The hull was to be clinker, planked
in spruce on bent timbers. The competition was won by George Cockshott, an amateur boat designer
from Southport, Lancashire, who had previously won prizes in other yacht and boat design competitions.

The design was baptised the 'A' Class One Design Dinghy but soon became known as the BRA 12 foot class.
Following a few modifications the first orders were placed. By October 1913 the members of
the West Kirby Sailing Club had already taken receipt of six BRA 12 dinghies. At West Kirby the design
was again re-christened when it became known locally as the Dreadnought Class, with the entire fleet of
these diminutive dinghies being named after contemporary British battleships such as the Audacious,
Thunderer and Bellerophon. The Royal Engineer's Yacht Club was another early customer and
before long their vessels were spreading throughout the British Empire.

Soon the design spread to the Netherlands where it was greeted enthusiastically. By the end of the
First World War there was a fleet of 140 BRA 12 footers racing there.

In the early 1920s the BRA merged with the Yacht Racing Association which hitherto had little
interest in sailing dinghies. A subsequent International Yacht Racing Union (IYRU) conference decided
that the BRA 12 footers should become the International 12 Foot Dinghy Class.

Some BRA members felt that an improved 12-foot dinghy should be designed for post-war use and
approached Morgan Giles, one of the UK's best-known designers of small racing dinghies. Giles
redrew the hull lines to allow a greater crew weight and improved sail carrying ability. He also
moved the thwarts to improve the trim when the dinghy was being rowed. The new design performed
better to windward, especially in light airs, and was stiffer and drier in a breeze. By this time
eleven countries were sailing the International 12 Foot Dinghy and most of these were keen to adopt
the new design, however the changes where opposed by the Netherlands and Belgium who had the largest
fleets of original BRA 12 foot dinghies. Consequently, the International 12 Foot Dinghy Class
retained George Cockshott's pre-war design.

By the 1920s the International 12 Foot Dinghy had become the most numerous One-Design class with
over 200 boats in the United Kingdom and a large number overseas. The class was given a further
boost when it was selected as the single-handed boat for the 1928 Olympic games held on the Zuiderzee.
The gold medal was won by Sven Thorell of Sweden, with Henrik Robert of Norway and
Bertil Broman of Finland taking the silver and bronze medals.

Subsequently, interest in the class waned in the United Kingdom, although elsewhere the class
continued to thrive. Today the class is still raced enthusiastically in the Netherlands, Italy and Germany.
Elsewhere the class is regaining popularity. New boats are being built, both in wood and GRP in Holland,
France, Italy, Turkey and Lithuania.